Rotor

ABSTRACT

A rotor (1) is of a substantially spherical shape with one complete half of the sphere (2) still remaining. The rotor (1) effective takes the shape of the head of a &#34;mushroom.&#34; The other half of the sphere has had its material removed or omitted forming the stem (3). The depth of the cut &#34;D&#34; and the length &#34;L,&#34; the radius of the sphere, will determine the ratio of the respective weights of the complete half sphere (2) and the stem portion (3). Suitably the weight of the one half to the other half of the spherical body is between about 0.75 and 0.85 and more preferably 0.8. When an external force is applied to the rotor (1), it rotates simultaneously about a pair of orthogonal axes one of which is defined by the edge (6) of the spherical body between the two halves.

This application is a National Stage application under 35 U.S.C. §371 ofPCT/NZ97/00012, filed Feb. 3, 1997.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improvements in and relating to rotors.

The term "rotor" is used in the present specification as a very broadterm covering any rotating body the rotation of which is able to performuseful work. Such work may include functions analogous to thoseperformed by known gyroscopes and rotational energy storage devices, aswell as, it is believed, displacement and control functions inorientatable bodies.

The innumerable uses of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the engineering, aeronautical and other fields but itis to be understood that the present invention has application whereverthe rotation of a body to perform useful work is involved. Immediatelyapparent uses of the present invention will therefore include therotating core of an electrical generator or turbine, a gyroscopic bodythe rotation of which may be utilised as a stabiliser within a land,sea, air or space vehicle or as a means of effecting a displacement of aland, air, space or sea vehicle, a rotating crushing member of apulverisers, or even as a toy.

Whenever the term "rotor" is used in the present specification it istherefore to be understood that it is intended to cover all possibleuses.

To the present time various types of rotors which are well knownincluding those for the aforementioned uses but all of which suffer fromone or more disadvantages relating to efficiency, cost and/or stabilityfor example.

In PCT/AU97/00417 for example there is a proposal for gyroscopic rotorsto be utilised in order to generate thrust. In various types ofvibration generating apparatus, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,648and United Kingdom patent 540,093, vibrations can either be created ordamped using a rotor. In any typical electrical generator or motor, arotor comprising an armature will rotate within a stator.

In all such cases considerable inefficiencies will be experienced as therotor is brought up to speed, or where its speed is changed,particularly in respect of the losses due to work done in overcomingfriction.

It is desirable that where energy is imparted to a rotor in the form ofrotational angular momentum, the rotor retains that energy for as longas possible. Thus the conversion of the rotational energy into usefulwork performed by the rotor may be as efficient as possible. To thisend, energy losses such as those caused by frictional effects and thelike must be avoided or at least minimised. Similarly optimum rotorgeometries may be selected so as to provide the best energy retentionproperties as practicable in the particular situation in which the rotoris to be used.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is thus an object of a preferred embodiment of the present inventionto provide a rotor which in operation has operational losses which aresubstantially reduced or at least kept to a minimum.

According to an object of one preferred embodiment of the presentinvention a rotor is to be able to accommodate external forces imposedthereon and by adaptation of its rotation is able to wholly or partiallycompensate for those external forces.

It is a further object of a preferred embodiment of the invention toprovide a rotor which is capable of storing angular momentum whereuponthe rotational energy provided thereby is able to effect, at leastwholly, or partially, orientation and displacement functions in respectof said rotor, or at least to provide the public with useful choice.

Further objects of the present invention in all its various embodimentswill become apparent from the following description.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided arotor comprising a spherical body wherein a portion of one half of thespherical body has been omitted or removed, the weight of said portionbeing such that the weight ratio of said one half to the other half ofthe spherical body is such that the rotor is adapted to rotate about apair of orthogonal axes one of which is defined by the edge of thespherical body between the said one and other halves.

In an alternative aspect the present invention provides a rotorcomprising a spherical body wherein a portion of one half of thespherical body has been omitted or removed, the weight of said portionbeing such that the ratio of weight of said half to the other half issuch that the rotor is adapted to rotate about first and second mutuallyorthogonal axes, said first axis being parallel to an angular momentumvector defined by the rotation of the spherical body and said secondaxis being parallel to the axis of rotational symmetry of said sphericalbody.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provideda rotor as defined in either of the two paragraphs immediately abovewhich is of a substantially "mushroom" shape.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provideda rotor as defined in any one of the three immediately precedingparagraphs wherein said portion of said one half of said spherical bodywhich is removed or omitted comprises approximately one third of thetotal weight of the spherical body if the portion were not removed oromitted.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a rotor as defined in any one of the four immediately precedingparagraphs wherein said edge defines a plane intersecting the centre ofthe spherical body.

In one embodiment the ratio of the weight of said one half to the otherhalf of the spherical body is between 0.75 and 0.85, more preferably0.8.

In one embodiment the portion removed or omitted is defined by aright-angled cut at the equator of the spherical body so that a stem isformed with sides substantially perpendicular to the plane defined bythe edge.

In one embodiment the rotor incorporates a spherical core comprisingheavier material than that which comprises the spherical body, such asmercury, tritium, yttrium, plutonium and other heavy elements as may yetbe discovered.

In one embodiment, a spherical core may comprise mixtures of one or moreof the stable or unstable isotopes of the above-mentioned elements ofthe immediately preceding paragraph.

In one embodiment the rotor may incorporate a ceramic coating over itssurface.

In one embodiment the rotor may wholly or partially include a magneticor magnetisable material.

In one embodiment the magnetic or magnetisable material of theimmediately preceding paragraph comprises neodynium or isotope thereof,salt, oxide or alloy thereof.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention there isprovided a work producing unit including a stator and a rotor as definedabove in any one of the preceding paragraphs rotatably positionedtherein.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention a workproducing unit as defined in the immediately preceding paragraph hassaid rotor rotatably mounted within said stator by means of hydraulic,pneumatic, electrical and/or magnetic forces.

According to yet a still further aspect of the present invention a workproducing unit as defined in the immediately preceding paragraph hassaid stator with a plurality of hydraulic or pneumatic jets positionedtherearound which acting on said rotor in use cause it to rotate.

A further aspect of the present invention provides a work producing unitas defined in any one of the three immediately preceding paragraphswherein said rotor in use can react gyroscopically to external forcesdetected by said stator so as to alter its attitude of rotation andthereby tend to counteract or stabilise the effects of said externalforces.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a rotor and/or work producing unit incorporating a rotor,adapted to provide orientatable and/or displacement forces to an objectwith which the rotor or one or more of said rotors is/are associated.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention there isprovided a rotor and/or work producing unit incorporating a rotor,substantially as herein described and/or with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

Further aspects of this invention which should be considered in all itsnovel aspects will become apparent from the following description givenby way of example of possible embodiments thereof and in which referenceis made to the accompanying drawings

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1, 2 & 3: Show diagrammatically front, side and plan perspectiveviews respectively of a rotor according to one possible embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 4: Shows diagrammatically a plan perspective view of the rotor withits axes of rotation identified.

FIGS. 5-8: Shows diagrammatically the manner of operation of the rotorand its possible use as a toy.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Rotors, for whatever purpose, can be expected to have at least one axisof symmetry. Such rotors are typically cylindrical and rotatable about asingle, typically longitudinal, axis. While a motive force is acting onthe rotor it will continue to rotate about that single axis with anefficiency largely dependent on the nature of the motive force and itsinteraction with the rotor, and on the frictional forces acting on therotor. With the removal of the motive force the rotor will tend torapidly return to a stationary position. Bearings, bushes or the likewill typically be provided so as to constrain the rotor so as to rotateabout the single axis so that the rotation is unaffected by any externalforces acting on the stator.

The present invention in complete contrast provides a rotor which isable to rotate about a pair of orthogonal axes and which is able totranslate the influence of external forces into an appropriate change ofthe attitude of those axes.

Without being bound by any particular theory, it is believed that, amongother aspects, the angular momentum vectors associated with the mutuallyorthogonally rotations, couple to provide the rotor properties describedherein. In this way the rotor of the present invention may be able to beutilised as a stabiliser within a moving body or as a moving body perse.

The applicant has found surprisingly that if a defined portion of onehalf of a spherical body is omitted or removed, once the spherical bodyis then rotated it will rotate about a pair of orthogonal axes one ofwhich is parallel to a plane defined by an edge running around theequator of a spherical body. The other axis is parallel to therotationally symmetric axis of the body. A coupled rotational movementis observed whereby an "end over end" rotation is accompanied byrotation about the rotor's axis of rotational symmetry.

Depending on the material used for the spherical body, and in particularits relative density or specific gravity (all of which are affected bythe particular element(s) used along with their particular isotopes),the amount of the spherical body removed or omitted is suitably of theorder of between one tenth and one third of the total weight of theoriginal spherical body. The removal or omission is performed about anequatorial plane between the two halves of the spherical body so as toleave a substantially straight or flat edge therebetween. The removalmay be effected by making a right angled cut at the equator therebyproducing a "stem and head" arrangement as shown in the accompanyingdrawings. The depth of the cut and length of the stem produced aremathematically related as is the volume (and thus for uniformdensity--the mass) of the remaining portion.

If the cut depth is D (as shown in FIG. 2) the volume of the stemportion 3 and 4 may be expressed as:

    V=V(3)+V(4);

where

    V(4)=PI*[(2/3)*R 3-R 2*(K) (1/2)+(1/3)(K) (3/2)]

and

    V(3)=PI(*(R-D) 2*(K) (1/2)

where

    K=(2*R*D-D 2)

where R is the radius of the sphere 2.

The equations are given in a form as would be understood by a computerprogrammer and their interpretation and application will be clear to oneskilled in the art. The volume of the head 4 will simply be half of thevolume of a sphere of radius R.

By these equations a particular embodiment of the invention has beenproduced with a ratio of stem weight to head weight at approximately0.80±0.15. This corresponds to a D/R ratio of approximately 0.20. Othergeometries have been found to have useful application and a range ofapproximately ±10% in D is envisaged.

It has been found that whether the rotor is a dense material such aslead, a less dense material such as stainless steel, or a relativelylight material such as plastics or aluminium, removal or omission ofapproximately one third, or other proportion discussed above, of thespherical body in this manner will result in a rotor which when spunaround its lengthwise axis will achieve a stable rotation about a pairof mutually orthogonal axes. Moreover, the efficiency with which therotor is able to achieve a stale rotation about the two axes is suchthat a motive force is able to be speedily and efficiently translatedinto a high speed but stable rotation. Also, the efficiency of the rotoris such that its rotation can be maintained at the required speed with avery high efficiency. Furthermore, the fact that the rotor is notconstrained, in a preferred embodiment, by a shaft or the like, so as torotate about a single axis, the rotor can be utilised for the purposes,for example, of the stabilisation of a moving body in which it islocated such as an aircraft, spacecraft, ship or car. It is envisagedthat a rotor of the present invention of sufficient size could form thewhole or part of a land, air, space or sea vehicle which would then haveinherent stability due to it being able to accommodate and suppress theeffects of external forces acting on it such as turbulence in the caseof aircraft.

In addition is believed that the particular properties of the rotordescribed herein include an ability to stabilise and displace objectswhen the rotor is spun at high angular velocities. Such an embodimentmay include a multiplicity of rotors coupled in a fixed relation to theobject to the stabilised or displaced. Alternatively, the rotors couldbe located in a number of configurations on a rotating or stationarydisc wherein angular stabilisation and/or displacement may be impartedthereto. Without being bound by any particular theory, it is believedthat the forces which may be produced by said rapidly spinning rotor(s)couple so as to effect said stabilisation/displacement.

Numerous configurations will be apparent including placing a rotor orrotors at lattice positions corresponding to the basic atomic packingconfigurations and exhibiting the known range of symmetry properties.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a rotor according to onepossible embodiment of the invention is referenced generally as arrow 1.It is seen as being of a substantially spherical shape with one completehalf of the sphere 2, still remaining. This effectively takes the shapeof the head of a "mushroom". The other half of the sphere has had aportion of its material removed or omitted to a depth "D" along anequatorial cut-line or edge 6 to leave a face 5 leading into a stemportion 3 extending out to the remaining portion of the sphere 4. Asdiscussed above, the depth of the cut "D" and the length "L", the latteralso being the radius of the sphere where the head 2 is the completehalf sphere, will determine the ratio of the respective weights of thecomplete half sphere 2 and the stem portion 3,4. Depending on therelative density of the material of the rotor 1 the amount of materialremoved for omitted in the case of a preformed body such as a mouldedplastics or aluminium) may be of the order of 10% to 33^(1/3) % of thetotal weight of the sphere although it is believed that this proportionmay vary perhaps by 5% by weight on either side so that the amount ofmaterial removed or omitted will then be in the range of approximately5% to 38% of the total weight of the original sphere.

It is seen that the resultant rotor 1 is of a substantially "mushroom"shape. When the rotor 1 is rotated or spun it has surprisingly beenfound that it will simultaneously rotate about a pair of axes indicatedby arrows "X" and "Y". The rotation about the latter axis willsubstantially correspond with the edge 6. The twin axes rotation isbelieved by the applicant to enable the rotor 1 to very rapidly achievea high speed rotation and due to minimal frictional losses at bearing orbush surfaces a high degree of efficiency can be attained.

In one embodiment of the present invention the rotor 1 may be positionedwithin a stator and acted on by tangentially directed hydraulic orpneumatic jets which will create and maintain the rotation of therotor 1. In one embodiment the rotor 1 may be associated or providedwith magnetic fields so as to be able to translate the rotation of therotor 1 into electrical or mechanical energy. In that embodiment therotor 1 may be of a magnetic or magnetisable material. Neodynium in asuitable form, such as a salt, oxide, alloy or an isotope thereof may beused for this purpose. On being magnetised it has been found that a pairof orthogonal North and South poles pairs can be obtained. It isenvisaged that superconducting windings may be incorporated in thisembodiment so as to enable the production or storage of electricalenergy with minimal losses. In a further embodiment of the invention therotor 1 may it is envisaged be provided with vanes or impellers forexample so that the rotation of the rotor 1 provides for a pumpingaction of fluid or material through the stator.

In one embodiment of the invention the rotor 1 may originally comprise asolid body of material from which the material to form the stem 3 isremoved or omitted. In alternative embodiments the rotor 1 may be formedor provided as a wholly or partially hollow body depending on thestem/head mass ratio desired.

The efficiency of the present rotor in respect of its ability to take upand retain rotational energy has been shown by measurements of the decaytime of a stable spinning rotor once the motive force has been removed.A steel rotor of approximately 0.95 kilograms was energised by means offour compressed air jets oriented so as to impinge as closely aspossible at a perpendicular direction to the plane defined by theequatorial edge. Constant air pressure was applied until the rotor hadstabilised at speed. It is to noted that the rotor was supported by apolished glass plate in order to minimise frictional losses and allowthe maintenance of reproducible external conditions on each of the testrotors. Once the rotor had stabilised at speed, the imparting force wasremoved following which the time taken for the rotational energy of therotor to decay to zero was measured. In the case of a steel rotor thedecay time was approximately four minutes and twenty five seconds, forbrass five minutes and twenty seconds seconds, aluminum: two minutes andfifty five seconds and acetal (plastic) rotor; approximately twominutes. While in some applications lighter weight rotors will beappropriate, it is envisaged that for energy take up and efficiency andretention, high density rotors will be implemented.

In an alternative embodiment, the equatorial cut may be formed as anannular channel encircling the "stem" section of the rotor. This is incontrast to the flat underside surface on the rotors as discussed above.It is believed that such a channel configuration may increase theefficiency of the rotor when the rotational energy is imparted by meansof compressed air, hydraulic means or the like.

Variable density distribution may be provided within the rotor by meansof incorporating a core composed of dense materials.

This core may be symmetrically placed within the rotor and be located atthe centre of gravity or centre of symmetry of rotation of the rotor. Itis envisaged that elements, for example mercury or yttrium may beinserted to the core. Without being bound by any particular theory, itis believed that nuclear couplings produced by various combinations ofisotopes of the above-mentioned elements interact in a macroscopic wayto provide hereinbefore unknown properties in a rotating body such asthe rotor described above. Such properties, it is believed, may beexploited to enhance the above-mentioned applications of the rotor.

Returning to the uniform density rotor, the provision of such extremedensity distributions within a rapidly spinning rotor, it is believed,can provide improved stabilisation in the body in which the rotor isembedded or contained. A particular example may include vibratoryabsorption characteristics in equipment such as drills, and the like.Further applications may include stabilising the course or path of anairborne or spaceborne object wherein angular and linear displacementsmay be effected without reference to an eternal motive force. It isbelieved that the particular couplings of the rotational attributesexhibited by a rotor may be exploited and/or coupled with those angularmoments exhibited by similarly coupled rotors in order to achieve thisend.

Clearly it is desirable to reduce frictional losses as much aspracticable in the particular application envisaged. To this end it isenvisaged that the rotor may be suspended within a magnetic field andangular energy imparted thereto by means of known electromagnetictechniques. The provision of such magnetic or electromagnetic fieldsrequired in order to spin or reorientate the body such as that describedabove being known and within the scope of one skilled in the art.

It is further believed that applications of superconductor technologymay be exploited in order to allow the rotor to be suspended withindense magnetic fields in order to reduce frictional losses. Thus it maybe seen that the rotor may find applications in such areas as diverse aswater pump units wherein a rotor is encapsulated in a substantiallyspherical containment vessel whereupon a fluid is supplied at one endfollowing which the rotation of the rotor effects its passage throughthe spherical containment vessel and through the exit passage at theother end. It is believed that the rotor may exhibit a particularlyefficient means of carrying out this objective.

While the present example has been described in the context of a rotorhaving a stem of a substantially cylindrical shape, it is envisaged thatother shapes may be implemented such as tapering right conicalstructures and asymmetrical configurations where necessary.

In terms of the stabilisation properties in conjunction with theadvantageous energy retention characteristics, it is believed that thepresent rotor represents an optionally configured geometry.Traditionally gyroscopic or other angular momentum orientatable deviceshave been designed so as to distribute the mass or masses, which are tobe symmetrically rotated, at displacements intended to provide theoptimal or maximised angular momentum for a given rotational velocity.It is believed that in the case of the present rotor, a truncated orportioned spherical rotor represents an optimal mass configuration forthe uptake of energy and establishment of coupled angular momentum. Themagnitude of the angular momentum vector produced by a rotating body isdependent upon the rate of rotation and the rotating mass of the body.The larger the magnitude, the more resistant the body to reorientingforces. In the present case, it is believed that a stabilisation vectorproduced by spinning a rotor such as that described above at extremelyhigh rotational velocities, results in a highly stable rotating bodyhaving known precession and angular properties which may be exploitedadvantageously. It is speculated that this is the result of exploitingan originally spherical body as a rotor. A sphere represents the mostvolumetrically efficient way of packing matter. Therefore, therotational energy is likely to be maximised by the use of such a rotorgeometry.

It is believed that a number of physical properties exhibited by therotor require rotational velocities and environmental conditions whichare not readily met by present technology and it is envisaged that someof the applications of the rotor and attendant properties exhibited bysame will be operable only when such technology has become available.Such technology includes future developments in superconductingtechnology, magnetohydrodynamics and their application in theorientation and displacement of bodies, as well as the interactionsbetween macroscopic objects and matter at an atomic nuclear scale.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-8 of the accompanying drawings, equivalentreferences have been used where appropriate as in the earlier drawings.In this embodiment the rotor 1 is provided with four differentlycoloured or patterned quadrants 7a, b, c, d. For example the quadrantsmay be coloured red, blue, green, and yellow. When the rotor 1 rotates,due to the rotation about the orthogonal axes, x, y, one of thesecolours will appear to dominate the entire rotor 1 as it rotates. Thusthe separate colours will appear sequentially as being as the colour ofthe rotor 1. This makes this embodiment useful as a toy or game but ofcourse this phenomena could also have many more serious applicationswhich will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the engineeringarts. It is believed that the coupled rotation about the twoabovementioned axes causes the observed colour transitions.

Wherein the foregoing description reference has been made to specificcomponents or integers of the invention having known equivalents thensuch equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.

Although this invention has been described by way of example and withreference to possible embodiments thereof it is to be understood thatmodifications or improvements may be made thereto without departing fromthe scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A rotor comprising a spherical body wherein aportion of one half of the spherical body has been omitted or removed, aweight of said portion being such that a weight ratio of said one halfto the other half of the spherical body is such that the rotor isadapted to continuously simultaneously rotate through 360° about a pairof orthogonal axes one of which is defined by an edge of the sphericalbody between said one and other half, and the other axis issubstantially orthogonal to the plane defined by said edge of thespherical body; wherein said portion of said one half of said sphericalbody which is removed or omitted comprises approximately one tenth toone third of a total weight of the spherical body if said portion wasnot removed or omitted.
 2. The rotor as claimed in claim 1, wherein afirst orthogonal axis is parallel to an angular momentum vector definedby a rotation of the spherical body and a second orthogonal axis isparallel to an axis of rotational symmetry of said spherical body. 3.The rotor as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotor is of a substantially"mushroom" shape.
 4. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 wherein said edgedefines a plane intersecting the centre of the spherical body.
 5. Therotor as claimed in claim 1 wherein said weight ratio is between about0.75 to and 0.85.
 6. A rotor as claimed in claim 5 wherein the ratio isapproximately 0.8.
 7. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 wherein theportion removed or omitted is defined by a right-angled cut at theequator of the spherical body so that a stem is formed with sidessubstantially perpendicular to the plane defined by the edge.
 8. Therotor as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotor incorporates a sphericalcore comprising a first material and said spherical body comprises asecond material, said first material having a higher relative densitythan said second material.
 9. The rotor as claimed in claim 8 whereinsaid first material is selected from a group consisting of mercury,tritium, yttrium, plutonium and mixtures of one or more of stable orunstable isotopes thereof.
 10. The rotor as claimed in claim 1 furtherincluding a ceramic coating over its external surface.
 11. The rotor asclaimed in claim 1 which wholly or partially includes a magnetic ormagnetisable material.
 12. The rotor as claimed in claim 11 wherein saidmagnetic or magnetisable material comprises a material selected from agroup consisting of neodynium or a neodynium isotope, a neodynium salt,a neodynium oxide and a neodynium alloy.
 13. A work producing unitincluding a stator and a rotor, said rotor comprising a spherical bodywherein a portion of one half of the spherical body has been omitted orremoved, a weight of said portion being such that a weight ratio of saidone half to the other half of the spherical body is such that the rotoris adapted to continuously simultaneously through 360° rotate about apair of orthogonal axes one of which is defined by an edge of thespherical body between said one and the other half, and the other axisis substantially orthogonal to the plane defined by said edge of thespherical body; wherein said portion of said one half of said sphericalbody which is removed or omitted comprises approximately one tenth toone third of the total weight of the spherical body if said portion wasnot removed or omitted, said rotor being rotatably positioned withinsaid stator.